Today in History  August 8

Today is Friday, August 8, the 220th day of 2014. There are 145 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation, effective the next day, following damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal.

On this date:

▪In 1814, during the War of 1812, peace talks between the United States and Britain began in Ghent, Belgium.

▪In 1911, President William Howard Taft signed a measure raising the number of U.S. representatives from 391 to 433, effective with the next Congress, with a proviso to add two more when New Mexico and Arizona became states.

▪In 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan completed its occupation of Beijing.

▪In 1942, during World War II, six Nazi saboteurs who were captured after landing in the U.S. were executed in Washington, D.C.; two others who'd cooperated with authorities were spared.

▪In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed the U.S. instrument of ratification for the United Nations Charter. The Soviet Union declared war against Japan during World War II.

▪In 1953, the United States and South Korea initialed a mutual security pact.

▪In 1963, Britain's ''Great Train Robbery'' took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes.

▪In 1968, the Republican national convention in Miami Beach nominated Richard Nixon for president on the first ballot.

▪In 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew branded as ''damned lies'' reports he had taken kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland, and vowed not to resign — which he ended up doing.

▪In 1978, the U.S. launched Pioneer Venus 2, which carried scientific probes to study the atmosphere of Venus.

▪In 1994, Israel and Jordan opened the first road link between the two once-warring countries.

▪Ten years ago: Alan Keyes, the Republican two-time presidential hopeful, threw his hat into Illinois' U.S. Senate race (he ended up losing in a landslide to Democrat Barack Obama). Actress Fay Wray, the damsel held atop the Empire State Building by the giant ape in ''King Kong,'' died in New York City at age 96.

▪Five years ago: Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court's first Hispanic and third female justice. A small plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River in New York City, killing nine people, including five Italian tourists. Typhoon Morakot slammed into Taiwan, leaving more than 670 either dead or missing (the typhoon also killed 22 people in the Philippines and eight in China).

▪One year ago: The U.S. sharply escalated its drone war in Yemen, with military officials in the Arab country reporting three strikes that left a dozen dead. Actress Karen Black, 74, who was featured in such counterculture favorites as ''Easy Rider,'' Five Easy Pieces'' and ''Nashville,'' died in Los Angeles. Opera singer Regina Resnik, 90, died in New York.

Thought for Today: "It is the anonymous 'they,' the enigmatic 'they' who are in charge. Who is 'they'? I don't know. Nobody knows. Not even 'they' themselves." — Joseph Heller, American author (1923-1999).